Cradle attachment



Nov. 29, 1960 E. w. FINGER 2,961,666

, cams Annex-11mm Filed Aug. 1, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 h i lp jvvovme I fA/aa 6111/91/65? Nov. 29, 1960 a w. FINGER emu: 'ATTACHIENT Filed Aug. 1. 195'? 2 Sheets-Shoat 2 IN van-r02. 424: 114 I'M/65g Moe/vex 2,961,666 RADLE ATTACHMENT Earle W. Finger, 1837 S. 10th Ave., Maywood, Ill.

Filed Aug. 1, 1957, Ser. No. 675,686

'1 Claim. (Cl. -109 The present invention relates to infants cradles and more particularly to attachable accessories therefor which will impart gentle reciprocatory rocking motion thereto automatically.

In order to produce the proper quieting and sleep inducing effects upon infants, a crib or cradle should be rocked with a slow rhythmic motion attenuated at its ends as reversal is approached. in order to accomplish this desired cadence by the use of an electric powered system, a proper transmission is needed which is capable of operating quietly and steadily without attendant noise and with out exposure of hazardous machine parts.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is to provide an electrically driven power mechanism and attachment hardware assembly suitable for conventional crib or cradle installation for automatically rocking such furniture article safely and noiselessly overlong periods of time.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a device which is inexpensive to manufacture and therefor available to homemakers at low cost.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a device of the class described which may be constructed in such a manner as to be universally adaptable to a wide variety of crib and cradle structures, so that the marketing thereof is in no wise restricted by detail features or styling, and so that the power unit and hardware accessories therefor may be sold separate from the cradle or crib, possibly as a do-it-yourself attachment.

The foregoing and other objects and purposes of the invention will be more particularly explained and described during the course of the stuctural description which follows hereinafter, taken in conjunction with the drawings attached hereto, in both of which like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout, and in which;

Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view through a typical infants bed or cradle of commercial design showing the present invention applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is a plan sectional view of the same furniture article with certain portions of the device omitted for the sake of clarity,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view, with some portions in section and indicated by the section lines 33 on Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail sectional view on an enlarged scale of the power apparatus and is indicated by the section lines 44 on Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail view on an enlarged scale indicated by the line 5-5 on Fig. 2, and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional detail view similar to Fig. 4, but disclosing a modified form of roller wheel and trackway supporting arrangement.

In the accompanying drawings, the reference numeral 11 points to an infants bed headboard generally while the opposite and corresponding part of the furniture article is designated 12. Conventionally, such units are provided with durable and sturdy corner posts 13, connected together at top and bottom by means of transverse United States Patent 0 rail members 14 and 15, and variously supplemented with fill panel or bar elements of which the illustration shows the former 16. The headboard and tailboard components 11 and 12 are held together by means of longitudinal footing rails 17, Figs. 1 and 3, but more often by some form of adjustable level spring supporting beams 18, see also Fig. 2, made of metal and taking the form of angle bars disposed with one web horizontal and the other vertical.

Under ordinary conditions such beams 18 are utilized for the dual purposes of stabilizing the outer component assembly and for nestingly receiving the mattress spring frame rectangle 19, Figs. 2 and 3. Where it is desired to dispose the mattress at adjustable levels, such beams 18 are provided with some form of receiving apertures 21, Figs. 4 and 5, in the instant case shown to be provided in brief lengths of end flanges 22, integral with the beam elements 18. Projections 23, formed integral with corner post mounted surface plates 24, may enter corresponding ones of the apertures 21 and thereby establish different levels of support at which the beams 18 and therefore of the mattress, are held.

However the modifications of beam support may be, so long as some type of longitudinal rail beams 18 are provided, the instant attachment device lends itself to facile adaptation by reason of its universal implementation now to be described. A pair of transverse angle metal beam elements 26 and 27 are provided as part of the installa- Each said bracket 32 comprises a perpendicular arm which may aid to confine the crib or cradle mattress against drifting sidewise, and an inwardly offset continuation 34, through which is anchored a stud shaft 35, providing journal support to the roller wheel 36. To mount the apparatus one need but drill the holes in the spring frame web for admitting the bolts 33 and a sturdy assembly may be had.

The driving apparatus includes an electric motor and speed reduction unit 39 from which there extends a reduced speed rotary shaft 41, Figs. 2 and 3, carrying a crank disc 42, see also Fig. 4. In order to afford selection of reciprocal motion distance, the crank disc 42 may have a plurality of pivot bolt holes 43, at which one end of the connecting rod 44 is articulated. The other end of the rod is preferably articulated in a corresponding manner to a projection or angle metal transverse beam 45, located at the mid-point between the extremities of the spring frame 19, see Fig. 2. As the work shaft rotates driven at reduced speed from the unit 39, there is imparted an even and rhythmic parallel motion corresponding to the shape of arcuate trackways 31. This rocking motion will not affect the reposed position of an infant in any way nor tend to induce rolling. At the same time it will not interfere with voluntary movements undertaken by the infant to comfort itself during the operation of the mechanism. These features of parallel motion stability will be recognized of some importance, particularly in the case of fitful sleepers and those disposed to digestive disturbances such as colic.

-In Fig. 6 is illustrated a modified adaptation of the invention in which the transverse rails 26 are equipped with the roller elements 51, journalled in studs 52 secured to the vertical web components of the rails 26, with the horizontal webs slotted as at 53 to accord clearance. In

are advisable to constrain the bedding against drifting.

In this pattern of trackway the swaying motion imparted to the bed portion is the reverse of that of the preferred embodiment, but nevertheless free of tilting or body rolling influence.

In order to further assure that the mattress will not tend to creep out of alignment with its supporting spring, supplementary stop arms 61, of economical yet reliable construction may be employed. These members may be made of springable strip metal, doubled over as at 62 and having upstanding arm portions 63, so as to enable the spring frame web to be clampingly straddled, with any possible displacement tendencies on the part of the mattress acting to drive the stop members more securely in place. 7

In the event that any infant's crib or bed is marketed with no longitudinal beam elements such as 18 the transverse beam elements 26 may be easily mounted directly against the headboard and tailboard sections or against their posts. With the present package equipment it is feasible for a user to construct a powered rocking arrangement with but a bare spring frame and mattress, the support being obtainable from any outline structure physically sturdy enough to sustain the weight of the described few parts plus the cargo.

While the invention has been explained and described with reference to selected embodiments of structure, it is to be understood that such is by way of example and not exclusion. Accordingly, the foregoing description and accompanying drawings are not to be taken as inelusive of the scope of this invention except as indicated by the hereunto appended claim.

The invention claimed is:

In combination with an infants crib which includes a crib frame having head and footsections interconnected by longitudinally extending frame members, a crib mattress support frame of a size to fit within said crib frame and having end portions adjacent said head and foot sections, and elevation adjusting support means at the corners of the crib frame, the improvement comprising: a

first transversely extending beam element for carrying one end of said mattress support frame and supportable at selected elevations between the elevation adjusting support means at the head end of the crib frame, a second transversely extending beam element for carrying the other end of said mattress support frame and supportable at selected elevations between the elevation adjusting support means at the foot end of the crib frame, a first pair of identically sized and shaped, transversely spaced and extending, concave trackways on one of said first beam element and the adjacent end portion of said mattress support frame and a correspondingly spaced pair of roller means mounted on the other of same and making transverse rolling engagement with the corresponding portions of said trackways, a second pair of transversely extending concave trackways of the same size, shape and spacing as said first traekways and located on one of said second beam element and the adjacent end portion of said mattress support frame and a correspondingly spaced pair of roller means mounted on the other of same and making transverse rolling engagement with the portions of said second trackways corresponding with the portions of said first trackways then being engaged by said first roller means, and means carried by the crib frame and secured to said crib mattress support frame for transversely reciprocating the same to effect relative movement between said roller means and trackways, to move said mattress support frame laterally and simultaneously to vary the elevation of said mattress support frame while maintaining the top of the mattress support frame in a horizontal plane at all times.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 132,745 Batley Nov. 5, 1872 957,855 Spaulding May 10, 1910 992,382 Ott May 16, 1911 1,110,920 Gibson Sept. 15, 1914 1,500,009 Smaldone .1. July 1, 1924 1,733,115 Capito Oct. 29, 1929 1,795,246 Brown Mar. 3, 1931 1,909,204 Marchese May 16, 1933 2,311,892 Uline Feb. 23, 1943 2,380,355 Worley July 10, 1945 2,570,676 Henderson Oct. 9, 1951 2,753,572 Knudson July 10, 1956 

